In this file photo from Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, a BurgerFi restaurant employee prepares to add cheese to a veggie burger as she grills an order at the Aventura, Fla., restaurant. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Plant-based products that do not contain meat can continue to be labeled “sausages” or “burgers,” European lawmakers said Friday, when they rejected a proposal back by the meat industry to ban the terms.
In votes on issues relating to agricultural products, the European Parliament said that so-called veggie burgers, soy steaks and vegan sausages can continue to be sold as such in restaurants and shops across the union.
Europe’s largest farmers' association, Copa-Cogeca, had supported a ban, arguing that labeling vegetarian substitutes with designations bringing meat to mind was misleading for consumers.
On the opposite side of the debate, a group of 13 organizations including Greenpeace and WWF urged lawmakers to reject the proposed amendments, arguing that a ban would have not only exposed the EU “to ridicule," but also damaged its environmental credibility.
They said promoting a shift toward more plant-based diet is in line with the EU Commission's ambition to tackle global warming. Losing the ability to use the terms steak or sausage might make those plant-based products more obscure for consumers.
After the vote, the European Consumer Organization, an umbrella group bringing together consumers' associations, praised the MEPs for their “common sense."
“Consumers are in no way confused by a soy steak or chickpea-based sausage, so long as it is clearly labeled as vegetarian or vegan," the group said in a statement. “Terms such as ‘burger’ or ‘steak’ on plant-based items simply make it much easier for consumers to know how to integrate these products within a meal."
Together with Greenpeace, the group regretted that lawmakers accepted further restrictions on the naming of alternative products containing no dairy. Terms like ‘almond milk’ and ‘soy yogurt’ are already banned in Europe after the bloc's top court ruled in 2017 that purely plant-based products can't be marketed using terms such as milk, butter or cheese, which are reserved for animal products.
Dave Burg, EY Americas Cybersecurity Leader, joins Cheddar News to discuss the rise of quantum computing and how it can compromise existing security measures at play today, and what the timeline looks like for quantum computing to become a reality.
Getting you caught up on the stories you need to know this morning: Matthew McConaughey lends his voice to the gun control fight in congress, at least 30 people were injured in Germany after a car plows into a crowd, and a new weight loss drug shows promising results.
Michelle Bond, CEO of the Association for Digital Asset Markets, joins Closing Bell, where she breaks down the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, which would not only establish a regulatory structure for digital assets, but hand over crypto oversight to the CFTC instead of the SEC.
Caleb Silver, Editor-in-Chief at Investopedia, joined Closing Bell to break down what Target's lowered forecast means for the retail industry ahead of Friday's CPI report.
Jim Corridore, Senior Insights Manager at Similarweb, joined Closing Bell to break down the competing offers from JetBlue and Frontier as both airlines look to join forces with Spirit Airlines.
Child care marketplace startup Kinside announced raising $12 million in a Series A round led by venture capitalists who are mothers themselves. The company aids parents searching for affordable child care easier by providing concierge support in a marketplace of verified professionals and helping them tap into flexible spending accounts (FSA) and other benefits. Founder and CEO Shadiah Sigala joined Cheddar News to talk about the fresh funds and the ongoing effects of the pandemic on the care of young children.
Apple revealed its plans for new IOS software, products, and more at its Worldwide Developers Conference. However, new features added to iMessage, including options to delete and edit already sent text messages, stole the show.
Hyatt Hotels released new data showing just how seriously consumers are looking at summer 2022 for revenge travel following previous disruptions from the pandemic. Joan Bottarini, CFO of the hotel chain, joined Cheddar News to break down the report. "We've got on the books a 15 percent increase on a global basis in demand over the summer months from June to August," she explained.
